Nationally renowned muralist does first work in hometown West Palm Beach

Sometimes the ever-changing face of downtown West Palm Beach has nothing to do with an old building coming down or a new one going up. Quite often, the refresh comes from new wall art. West Palm Beach is home to more than 40 murals, and just this month its collection grew again.

The addition to the painted-on-the-sides-of-buildings collection can be found on the west side of 225 Clematis St. and is titled "The Real Wild Life."

It was commissioned by the West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District in partnership with the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority and is the vision of artist Kate Lynn Lewis, who began the mural July 3 and completed it July 12.

Lewis, who was born and raised in West Palm Beach, recently moved back to the area after spending more than a decade in Chicago.

The space where the new mural is painted is known as the West Palm Beach Cultural Collective Wall and has featured several murals since 2019, the first being Craig McInnis' "Van Gogh." Seeing the spot and thinking about the possibilities, Lewis reached out to the WPB DDA and asked them, "Is there an opportunity to do a new mural?"

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After considering her proposal and hashing out the details, they basically said "let's do this," Lewis recalled. "They really trusted me with what I wanted … to let me be myself." That kind of trust "just doesn't happen" too often, she said.

Clematis Street muralist turns to classic Palm Beach County scenes for inspiration

For inspiration, Lewis considered the question of what she missed about her roots. "What did I want to come home to?" She also sought what makes the area unique. "Florida is the only subtropical climate in the United States and people travel from all over to visit." So Lewis wanted to celebrate that.

In the final edit, she went with multiple vignettes within the mural drawing inspiration from the boardwalk at MacArthur Beach State Park, trips down the Loxahatchee River at Riverbend Park and snorkeling in our beautiful local waters, along with traveler and coconut palms.

The mural uses a palette of muted blues and pinkish-orange colors influenced by the art deco scene in our area. The look is inspired by newsprint — the area's hometown newspaper, The Palm Beach Post, in particular, Lewis said.

The daughter of local landscaping legend and disaster-relief specialist Scott Lewis, Kate Lynn Lewis has done more than 60 murals in cities including Chicago, Cleveland and Raleigh, but this is her first in her hometown.

The mural is 70 feet long by 10 feet tall and is best viewed from Olive Avenue.

Though she's been painting indoor and outdoor murals for seven years, Lewis has no formal art training — her degree is in business. Her first paid mural work came in 2017 when she painted the outside of a bar for "$250 in bar credit."

She quit working for a bar tab long ago and these days charges $35 per square foot.

It was while she was in Chicago that Lewis realized she could make a living as an artist, something she loved. She laughed and said that everyone she met was doing art, "even my dentist."

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The elements can be rough on exterior mural art. To give this ode to her hometown some added durability, a layer of clear sealer is being applied, Lewis said.

Though not technically part of Duffy's Sports Grill, the mural is located just outside and around the corner from the popular restaurant.

“We are so excited to have local artist Kate Lynn Lewis chosen by the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority to grace the exterior walls of Duffy’s with her beautiful wild Florida mural. We love our city and its continuing mission to beautify the community we serve,” said Tracy Clary, director of marketing for Duffy’s Sports Grill.

The city of West Palm Beach has over 40 murals in the downtown area, with most popular (at least Instagrammable) being "Einstein's Theory of Love" by Eduardo Kobra at 509 Clematis St.

Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.